Welcome to the forum
.
Following on from what DrSuperL99 said just above, I would stop saying that you are 'moving to' or 'living in' the UK for those 6 months. Unless you have a work, student or family visa that allows you to live in the UK, you will be just
visiting for those 6 months.
As a visitor, you are a tourist only, and you are not allowed to 'live' in the UK, and if the immigration officers suspect you might be using the visitor visa to live with your boyfriend without the proper visa, they can decide to refuse you entry. As we say on the forum, there is no 'shacking up' visa - no visa that allows you to live with your boyfriend as a trial.
So, just be careful what you say, and make sure you can prove you are just a tourist and not moving to the UK.
As a visitor, you will need to be able to show:
- you have a return ticket back to the US within 6 months
- you have enough money to support yourself for 6 months without needing to work (or that your boyfriend can support you for that time)
- that you have NO intention of living in the UK
- that you have a home, a job and a life to return to in the US which means you won't try to stay in the UK for longer than 6 months.
The official guidance states:
Assessing an applicant’s genuine intentions to visit
You must be satisfied that the applicant meets all the requirements of V4.2 – V4.10 of the visit rules and is a genuine visitor. If you are not satisfied, you must refuse their application. A visitor can enter to do different permitted activities but they must have a main reason or reasons for visiting, for example for business or a holiday, and be able to provide details.
Frequent or successive visits: how to assess if an applicant is making the UK their main home or place of work
You should check the applicant’s travel history: how long are they spending in the UK and how frequently are they returning? You must assess if they are, in effect, making the UK their main home.
You should look at:
• the purpose of the visit and intended length of stay stated
• the number of visits made over the past 12 months, including the length of stay on each occasion, the time elapsed since the last visit, and if this amounts to the individual spending more time in the UK than in their home country
• the purpose of return trips to the visitor’s home country and if this is used only to seek re-entry to the UK
• the links they have with their home country-consider especially any long term commitments and where the applicant is registered for tax purposes
• evidence the UK is their main place of residence, for example
- if they have registered with a general practitioner (GP)
- send their children to UK schools
• the history of previous applications, for example if the visitor has previously been refused under the family rules and subsequently wants to enter as a visitor you must assess if they are using the visitor route to avoid the rules in place for family migrants joining British or settled persons in the UK
There is no specified maximum period which an individual can spend in the UK in any period such as ‘6 months in 12 months’. However, if it is clear from an individual’s travel history that they are making the UK their home you should refuse their application.
